LGBTQ+ and Securing Your Rights and Respect in Death

LGBTQ+ and Securing Your Rights and Respect in Death

First suggestion, pick one or both of these forms and fill out with your people. Right meow!

Appointment of Agent Form with Witnesses                                   Appointment of Agent Form with Notary


OK, now that is done- Why the urgency? If you do not have a document like this, or you are not married to your partner as seen by law in the state you live in (even if you are, rights are threatened daily, I still say have this on hand).


I am currently crafting another document with pronoun selection added and dead/legal name allocation for the form. It will be updated to the provided links when available. In the meantime, use your legal name for this to be recognized as a legal document.


You can update your document anytime, and email it to your people. This ensures everyone that must be in the know when you die have documents to ensure you are respected and cared for in the manner you deem desirable.


Forms like this are vital for those people who are separated from legal next of kin by choice. Appointment of a funeral agent trumps the normal next-of-kin rules as outlined by the state you live in (spouse, children, parents, living relatives, etc....). Appointed Agents can be anyone: executors of estates, your spouse, one of your children, a parent, another relative, or a friend with whom you trust to carry out your funeral wishes.


Those who may want to consider delegating an Appointed Agent are people who think their relatives may not honor their funeral wishes or pre-arrangements. Also, if a state's law outlines the next-of-kin as multiple people with a requirement that all agree, this may cause a conflict in decision making. In these scenarios, it is sometimes best to appoint just one person to override the state's policy.


Others who would benefit from appointing a designated Appointed Agent are: people who may be estranged from their spouse or next-of-kin, or do not know where the living relatives are located, or those who do not have any living relatives.



New Paragraph

October 17, 2025
The Last Thing Petra and Michael Wanted
green burial california
September 8, 2025
Where to find green/natural burial in California.
green burial arkansas
September 8, 2025
Where to find green/natural burial in Arkansas
arizna green burial
By Modern Mortician Admin September 8, 2025
Where to find green/natural burial in Arizona.
alaska green burial alaska
September 8, 2025
Where to find green/natural burial in Alaska
By Modern Mortician Admin September 8, 2025
Where to find green/natural burial in Alabama
By Kendra Holliday September 1, 2025
A Unique Display- guest post by Kendra Holliday
By Modern Mortician Admin September 1, 2025
💰 Money-Saving Secrets for Funeral Planning A helpful guide curated by the online community of💚 The Modern Mortician I asked my facebook community for their money-saving secrets they'd pass along to a friend planning a funeral, and after over 100 comments and one month, here's what they said: 🏆 Most Popular Tips 1️⃣ Pre-plan, but think carefully before pre-paying. Use a trust, insurance, or POD account instead of paying a single funeral home directly. 2️⃣ Shop around & compare General Price Lists. If a funeral home does not have their prices online, request it emailed. Ask what’s legally required vs. what’s just policy. 3️⃣ Bring your own casket or urn. It’s your right under the FTC Funeral Rule . 🪦 Titan , Costco, Walmart, eBay, Amazon, or local makers can save thousands. 4️⃣ Skip embalming when not required. Refrigeration or quick timelines can do the trick. 5️⃣ Choose simple disposition. 💧Direct cremation or 🌱green burial both save money and the planet. 6️⃣ Avoid fancy vaults or gasketed caskets. Nothing is waterproof, and a basic liner works fine.  7️⃣ Remember: Price ≠ Love. A meaningful goodbye doesn’t require overspending. ❤️ 💡 Mid-Level Tips ✨ DIY where you can: write the obituary, use a blanket instead of flowers, host at home or in a church. ✨ Consider body donation: many programs cover transport & cremation entirely. ✨ Ask: “Show me where this is required by law.” ✨ Use direct cremation providers or cremation societies. ✨ Home or backyard burials may be legal, check your state codes. 📋 Pro Tips & Lesser-Known Savings 💎 Buy headstones from the vendor directly and skip the commission; programs & guest books can be found at Craft Stores, or on Etsy or Canva. 💎 Avoid Saturday Services (some homes charge $500+ more). 💎 Don’t order an abundance of death certificates, discuss immediate need, you can request more later. 💎 Religious or community burial groups often help families for free or low-cost. 💎 If prepaying, make it irrevocable to protect it from Medicaid or lawsuits. 😄 Humor & Perspective 🪦 “Don’t die.” — Still the cheapest funeral plan known to man. ⚰️ “Live forever, your family might not appreciate the inconvenience.” 💀 “If you’re planning your own funeral, you’re already ahead of the game, literally.” 🌿 “He wanted a burial at sea… so we flushed his ashes in the guest bathroom.” 🕯️ “Nothing says ‘I loved you’ like a $12,000 mahogany box you’ll never see again.” 🪺 “Skip the casket, throw me in a ditch. At least I’ll finally be organic.” 🛠️ “DIY funeral? Just don’t use duct tape. That’s not what they meant by ‘closure.’” 👻 “Remember, the dead don’t care, but your wallet does.” 💸 “You can’t take it with you, but you can make sure your family keeps theirs.” 🌸 “Love isn’t measured in lilies and lace; it’s measured in the laughter left behind.” 🌎 “Green burial: because even in death, you can still go green before you go gray.” 😇 “Write your wishes down now, because haunting your relatives later is such bad manners.” 🧾 “Ask to see the price list, not the priest list.” 🪦 “Don’t let guilt write the check. Grief’s expensive enough already.” 🐕 “And if all else fails, just have the dog scatter your ashes at the park. He’ll know what to do.”
By Modern Mortician Admin August 30, 2025
Why Water Cremains and Flame Cremains React Differently on Grass and Soil (image of a vial of water cremains on the left, and flame cremains on the right)
water cremation, wave urn
By Modern Mortician Admin August 29, 2025
Melissa Meadow explains where to get water cremation in the US